In Too Deep
by Sticks and Stones
Summary: (Slash) Draco dreams of Harry being kidnapped by an anti-Voldemort, anti-Muggle faction and awakes to see the same incident described in the morning paper. As a new year at Hogwarts begins, will Draco come forth with what he knows and help Harry?
1. The Stage is Set

Title: In Too Deep (1/?)

Author: Sticks and Stones

E-mail: sticks_and_stones101@yahoo.com

Rating: R 

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Sorry.

Warning: Slash, some violence later on, I guess . . . rated R to be safe

Summary: (Slash) Draco dreams of Harry being kidnapped by an anit-Voldemort, anti-Muggle faction and awakes to see the same incident described in the morning paper. Will Draco come forth with what he knows and help Harry?

Prologue: The Stage is Set

Harry Potter lay awake in his bed listening to the soft pitter-patter of rain striking the roof of the house at 4 Privet Drive. His room was practically pitch black, with the gray storm clouds blanketing the moon. Only brief, bright flashes of lightning allowed Harry any sort of visualization. The rain wasn't soothing, as it usually was, and for some reason, he couldn't sleep that night.

Maybe it was because . . .

His eyes shifted to his clock. It was two minutes past twelve, and he was now sixteen.

Harry rolled over onto his back and sighed heavily. He could expect a few owls carrying gifts from his friends in the morning. Not that he meant to sound ungrateful, but it looked as if it was to be another average birthday for Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

* Thump, thump, thump. * 

Or maybe not. 

Harry froze. What was that sound? His heart skipped a beat. Someone, or some_thing_, was on the roof of the house. His mind whirled, and the first thought that flew into his mind was, 'Death Eaters'. Were they finally coming for him? 

It seemed to be that way because, before Harry could act, a blast of chilly autumn air blew into the room as his window slid open. One, two, three thumps came again, the sound from three sets of heavy boots coming in contact with his floor. 

Harry almost shivered from the cold, yet forced himself to lay deathly still as the Death Eaters approached his bed. Mentally, he cursed. His wand was locked up in the cupboard, thanks to his uncle, and he was therefore unable to defend himself. What was he going to do now? He couldn't let the Death Eaters just _take _him. 

Harry Potter _did not _give up without a fight.

"On the count of three, Zaigon," rasped one of the Death Eaters, "I want you to grab him. One . . . two-"

Harry suddenly lurched up, flinging is pillow and blankets at the Death Eaters. He scrambled out of bed and ran over to the door, yanking it open and running down the hallway.

"GET HIM!!" one of them shouted, taking off after him.

Dudley poked his head out of his room and his aunt and uncle emerged from their own. "Get out of here!!" shouted Harry, pausing for just a moment. "They'll kill you if you don't GET OUT NOW!!"

His uncle glared at him. "What the hell are you . . ."

"Avada Kedavra!!" shouted Harry's three attackers simultaneously, each of them pointing their wand at one of the Dursleys. 

Harry's stomach rolled as the screams of the only family he had left filled the house. There was no way that he could save them now- they had to be dead. He kept on running with the front door in sight. After he got there, then what? He hadn't really thought that far ahead . . .

He had just neared the stairs when one of the Death Eaters suddenly cried, "FLIPENDO!!" 

Harry cried out in surprise as his feet disappeared from underneath him and he tumbled headfirst down the stairs, landing hard flat on his back after his head struck the last step. He tried to get up, but only succeeded in falling back down onto the floor when his leg gave in. His leg was broken, or maybe just sprained, but either way, it didn't matter. He was never going to be able to escape with an injured leg AND a big welt on the back of his head.

The three Death eaters descended the stairs and stood over Harry. One of them bent down on one knee to examine him. Harry could barely see the man's face with his vision swimming from the fall, but could tell that he'd never seen the man before in his life.

"Good job, Katilia!" said the Death Eater bent over him in a tone of voice heavily lace with sarcasm. "You could've killed him, you know."

"Well, we've got him, don't we?" snickered Katilia. The voice was soft, but a bit husky, and Harry figured Katilia to be a woman. "Just pick up the boy, Vai, and take him to headquarters. Zaigon and I will get his things." 

As Vai began to pick him up, Harry tried to slither away, despite his throbbing leg. "Hold . . . still!" exclaimed the Death Eater.

Zaigon chuckled. "Can't even contain a kid, Vai? Wait 'til the boss hears about this- you'll be demoted for sure."

Vai muttered something under his breath and pointed his wand at Harry. "Stupefy!"

Harry knew no more.

*~*

Draco Malfoy woke up with a start, his hand immediately flying up to his heart. It was slamming wildly in his chest, and it felt as if his lungs were on fire. His body was drenched in sweat despite the cool temperature in the room. He raised a shaking hand to wipe his forehead with the back of his hand. _Shit . . ._ He took in several deep breaths before he began to calm down. 

Draco looked around his room, just to make sure that he was really, truly, _actually _there. Everything seemed to be in order . . . everything was just the way he'd left it the night before.

Then what had that dream- no, nightmare, been about? Why on earth had he dreamt of Harry Potter (of all people . . . Draco made a face . . . yuck . . .) being kidnapped in the dead of night? He shook his head and ran a hand though his hair. No way _that_ could've actually happened. Like Dumbledore would let _anything _happen to his Golden Boy. _The Headmaster probably has guards set up all around Potter's place or something to prevent anyone who doesn't belong from coming in. It was just a dream, nothing but a stupid dream . . ._

But the realistic-ness of the whole thing bothered him. He had seen the fear written all over Potter's pale, bony little face, could almost _taste _it, and had witnessed his pain when he'd taken that nasty fall down the stairs. It was almost as if . . . he had BEEN there, and maybe had been Harry himself for a little while. It was a little scary . . .

__

But so not true. Perfect Potter is probably sitting in his cozy home curled up next to the fire, dreaming of the Mudblood Granger. So why am I still thinking about it? Hmm . . . I really don't know . . .

Draco got out of bed and yawned, then went over to the window and pulled back the drapes, expecting the sun to pour into the room to lighten up his spirit a bit. But there was no sun- only heavy, dark, ominous rain clouds. He shivered. A realization flashed though the back of his mind, startling him. Had it been raining last night? It was raining in his dream . . .

__

Fuck it! It's just a freaking coincidence, a BIG FREAKIN' coincidence! He whirled around and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Draco quickly stripped, dropping his black silky pajama bottoms to the floor. He leaned over the to turn on the shower, and noticed a bruise on his leg. He stared down at it, then hesitantly poked at it with his finger. 

NOT a wise move.

"OUCH!! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, THAT HURT!!!" he yelled. Draco glared down at his leg. 

Now, unless he was going crazy, that bruise hadn't been there the night before. He would've noticed something so big and purple and . . . _bloody painful_. 

__

Wait a minute . . . didn't Potter hurt his leg? Draco's mouth fell open in shock. Yes, he remembered . . . Potter had fallen down the stairs and busted up his leg. 

Okay, now this was getting serious. Potter's pathetic-ness was now affecting him personally, and he didn't like it one bit. What in the world was going on?

Draco rushed out of the bathroom butt naked and quickly dressed, then left his room and down the long, long hallway. He went down the stairs carefully- his bruise was still smarting from that poke. Once he reached the bottom, he bit his bottom lip. Visions of Potter lying flat on his back at the foot of the stairs, his ugly face twisted up in pain, clouded Draco's mind. _Argh! Why won't Potter leave me alone?! _

He stopped just outside of a huge wooden door to compose himself before walking into the dining room where his father already sat, muttering underneath his breath about something in the newspaper that lay unfolded before him. His mother sat all the way on the other end of the table, quietly sipping on her tea. She sent him a warning glance, then looked significantly at his father.

__

I wonder what's wrong? "Good morning, mother, father," he said brightly after kissing his mother's cheek and taking his place at the table.

His father looked up and glared. "Is it really, son? A good morning?"

Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't say a thing. 

Lucius got up and slowly crossed the room, taking the newspaper with him. Draco sat still, watching him as he moved. _What is he getting at? _His eyes narrowed."I don't like to play games father. You know that. Just get to the point."

His father slammed the morning paper down on the table in front of Draco. "Tell me what you think of _this_."

Draco sighed heavily and muttered, "I really don't see what could be so . . . bloody . . . impor . . ." His eyes drifted down to the paper. " . . . the fuck?!"

In big, bold print, on the front page of the paper was 'The Boy Who Lived- Kidnapped'.

Author's Note: Short, yes, but only because it's the first chapter. Anyway, please push the button down there and review. 


	2. The Dark Sunrise

Title: In Too Deep (2/?)

Author: Sticks and Stones

E-mail: sticks_and_stones101@yahoo.com

Rating: R 

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Sorry.

Warning: Slash, some violence later on, I guess . . . rated R to be safe

Summary: (Slash) Draco dreams of Harry being kidnapped by an anti-Voldemort, anti-Muggle faction and awakes to see the same incident described in the morning paper. Will Draco come forth with what he knows and help Harry?

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I hope you're satisfied with this chapter.

Chapter Two: The Dark Sunrise

Draco felt like passing out. So it was true! His entire dream was true! Potter HAD been kidnapped the night before . . . _and he was a witness_!! He knew how many kidnappers there had been, had seen their faces, knew the exact time of the attack, knew that three Muggles had died without reading the full article . . . 

Well . . . sorta.

He hadn't exactly _been _there to see it all, but he still knew. He vaguely wondered if anyone would believe him, would believe that he'd seen the whole thing . . . _if _he decided to come forward, that was. Draco snickered. Yeah, right. Like _he _was going to try to help the great Harry Potter. It would be a cold day in hell before _that_ happened.

So Draco put on the most neutral face that he could manage and said calmly, "Well, father, wouldn't you, of all people, be happy about this? I mean, the Death Eaters finally have Potter and-"

"THAT'S JUST THE THING!!!!" his father roared. "WE DIDN'T GET HIM!!!"

__

What the hell . . .?!! Death Eaters aren't responsible?!

"Um . . . what? Are you . . . sure?"

His father looked furious and snatched up the paper. "Sure? SURE?! Of course I'm sure!!!!" He roughly yanked up the sleeve of his robe and furiously rubbed at the Dark Mark. "The Lord is calling us right now . . . this isn't good . . ."

His father stalked angrily out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Draco stared down at the forgotten newspaper on table before him, then hastily folded it up and slipped it into his robes. He would read the paper later, just out of curiosity, to see what the authorities knew.

What little bit of appetite that he'd had just minutes ago was now gone, and he no longer desired to be in the room. He nosily pushed back his chair and stood, attracting the attention of his mother.

"Dear, before you go," she said, "your owl from Hogwarts came. It's in the middle of the table."

He shifted through the pile of parchment on the table, picking out his school letter and another from Goyle. "Thanks, Mother." He quickly left and retreated to his room, where he shut and locked the door behind him.

Draco flopped down on his bed and tossed his two owls aside, pulling out the newspaper. He carefully unfolded it and spread it out before him.

'The Boy Who Lived- Kidnapped,' it began. 'The disappearance of Harry Potter, the boy responsible for defeating He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was just a baby, has rocked the magical world to it's very foundation. Reported just early this morning, the incident was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Magic when two of Potter's friends received no reply from him after sending birthday gifts to his safe house.

'Upon investigation, the Ministry found three Muggles lying dead in their home, apparently struck down by the forbidden Avada Kedavra. There was no ransom note left, and all of Potter's possessions were taken along with him.

'With little or no clues to go on, there are currently no suspects in the kidnapping. Many, however, speculate that Death Eaters are the culprits. Rumors of the rise of You-Know-Who have sparked this claim, although there is no evidence to his uprising, or at least none that the Ministry is prepared to share with the general public.'

Draco threw the paper aside and sighed heavily. So. Three Muggles _were _dead, and they _had_ been killed by Avada Kedavra. But something puzzled him about the whole thing. If Death Eaters hadn't taken Potter as his father had claimed, then who had? The magical community absolutely adored him, so it didn't really make much sense that someone else would kidnap Potter.

Unless his father was mistaken. Maybe Voldemort hadn't told his lackeys about his victory yet, and that was why he was calling them now. Maybe . . .

Draco's vision swam and suddenly the room around him disappeared and was replaced by a very familiar scene. A chill raced up his spine when he realized where he was. 

He was back in Potter's room again, back to the night the boy had been taken. Except everything was going much slower than it had actually happened. Like now, as the 'Death Eaters' came into the room through the window, they moved at a painstakingly slow pace.

__

What's up with this? Why am I seeing this again?

He watched as the three intruders neared Potter's bed to attack. Harry jumped up and dashed (okay, _slowly_ dashed) for the door, pulling it open. Draco found himself roughly yanked along with Potter as the 'Death Eaters' followed after him.

He watched as the three Muggles came into the hall, heard Harry's yell, saw the three attackers raised their arms and then came the cries of, "AVADA KEDAVRA!!"

Suddenly the scene froze. Everyone was still, and even the deadly curse was floating in mid air.

Oooookay. Now what?

__

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder . . . Draco just stood around for a while, waiting for things to begin again. 

But it didn't.

__

I want OUT!! He growled and angrily stomped around Harry, kicking his still body in the leg. Nothing. He was just about to aim his foot toward a higher, more painful destination when something caught his eye. Draco left the dream Harry alone and walked up to the attackers. 

All three of them had their arms raised in the air, and their sleeves had fallen back. He walked around their bodies. There. There was the answer.

Two of the attackers were left handed, and both of their arms were clean.

No Dark Mark.

There was a bright flash of light and then a _whoosh_ sound, and Draco found himself lying on his bed once more. "What the fuck was all that about?" he demanded quite loudly to no one at all. 

Well, one thing was clear. Something had pulled him back into that dream and showed him something that could change the whole course of the Potter investigation. Voldemort hadn't been responsible, and he knew that the Ministry would keep thinking that he was until they received information that would lead them to believe otherwise. Information that would not reach the Ministry unless _he _came forward. 

Draco snickered. _Well,_ _Fate, you've chosen the wrong person for this job. My mouth's staying shut._

He cackled evilly. Well, at least something good would come out of the kidnapping.

Both the Quidditch and House Cup were now in his grasp. 

*~*

Remus Lupin held the morning paper close to his chest and watched as a groggy Sirius entered the kitchen of their tiny hideaway cabin deep in the middle of some forgotten woods. He immediately filled a mug with black coffee as he did every morning and sat across from Remus.

"Where's the paper?" asked Sirius, sipping at the steamy black liquid in his cup. This, too, was a routine. Sirius liked to keep up with current events and spent the early morning hours reading every article in the paper.

" . . ." was all Sirius got as a reply.

Sirius raised and eyebrow. "Remus? Hello, Remus? The paper?"

"Ahhh . . ."

Sirius spotted it in Lupin's grasp. He glared at his friend. "It's right there, Remus." He pointed at Lupin's chest. "Right there! Give me the paper."

Remus stood up and held it behind his back. "Um, Sirius . . . I . . . uh . . ." He knew that Sirius would go ballistic once he saw what was on the front page of the paper. 

Harry's disappearance. 

"Come on, now. I thought we were both adults here. It's not that hard. Give me the paper, okay?!"

"Let me just . . . warn you . . ." Remus began backing up from the table.

Sirius leapt at Remus and wrestled the paper away from the other man. "It's just a damn paper, Remus!" He proceeded to unfold the paper and turned it over to look at the front page.

Remus waited for the explosion.

" . . . WHAT THE HELL?!" 

*~*

Ron warily rubbed his temples. With the news of Harry's kidnapping fresh in their minds, his family was a complete and utter wreck. Ginny was crying hysterically into her hands while his father was busy yelling into the fireplace, arguing with some official at the Department of Criminal Investigation.

"I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT YOU PEOPLE ARE DOING ABOUT THIS!!!!" he shouted angrily to the man on the other end.

"We're doing-" began the other man.

"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!! TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW!!!!"

"I can't tell you anything! Everything is strictly confidential, Mr. Weasley!"

Ginny's crying got louder and louder.

"DO YOU HEAR MY DAUGHTER?!" Ron's father exclaimed. "SHE'S CRYING OVER HARRY, AND SHE WON'T QUIET DOWN UNTIL I GET SOME INFORMATION!!!!"

Ron couldn't take it anymore. He stalked out of the room and ran outside where his brothers were sitting on the grass, fiddling with some sort of new device they'd just made. Ron frowned and got angry. "Really, you two, how can you play with your stupid toys at a time like this?! Harry's gone, and you don't give a flying rat's ass!"

Fred grinned. "Now, now, Ron, you're starting to nag like Hermione."

"Shut up!!"

George laughed. "Calm down, Ron. This," he held up a black box with a screen, a key pad and a satellite dish type thing on the end, "could help find Harry."

Ron looked interested and peered over the twin's shoulders. "Really? What is it? What does it do?"

Fred cleared his throat and put on his advertisement voice. "I'm glad you asked, Ron! You see, we call this the Seeker 2000."

"What?" asked Ron. "The WHAT?" Did it have something to do with Quidditch?

George took over. "The Seeker 2000. What does it do, you wonder? Explain, Fred."

"The Seeker 2000 can latch onto the location of a person's wand. Good for forgetful wizards like Neville, and the ideal piece of equipment for missing persons and kidnapping cases," finished the other twin.

Ron raised an eyebrow. "What? I still don't get it."

George sighed exasperatedly and Fred snickered. "Look," said George, "don't be stupid Ron!"

"Yeah, Ron! Think about it. _Kidnapping cases!_ The Death Eaters took Harry's things with them, according to the article in the morning paper," explained Fred.

"And," the other boy said, "that means they probably took his wand with them. Now, providing that they haven't nuked it or something, we could find Harry by locating his wand!"

Ron's mouth fell open. Wait a minute. The twins had actually created something beneficial to society? Something that _wasn't_ a gag? "Why'd you two want to make something like that in the first place?"

"It was George's idea."

"No, no, brother! It was _yours_!"

"No, yours."

"I must insist, it was YOURS!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter _whose_ idea it was! It's . . . ingenious!"

Both twins grinned and said at the exact same time, "Just imagine . . . we'll be world famous for solving the Great Harry Potter Mystery!"

Fred nodded. "Tons of people will come to our joke shop to see the two brilliant twins who saved Harry Potter himself . . ."

" . . . which will lead to us making a huge amount of money . . ."

" . . . and we'll have stores all across the globe . . ."

Ron could almost see the dollar signs in their eyes. He shook his head. "How does it work?"

"Easy!" said both twins. They glanced at each other, then Fred began to explain. "Okay, like this. Now pay attention! We all know that no two wands are the same. While they made be composed of similar items, all are different. By punching in the items found in a person's wand _here_ . . ." he gestured to the key pad, "we can lock onto the person's location. How far the person can be, we're not sure. That's why we're running tests."

" . . . does it even work?" muttered Ron skeptically. It all sounded horribly confusing and extremely complicated to him, and he still couldn't get over the fact that the _twins_ (of all people) had created it.

Fred and George looked horrified. George spoke. "You doubt us?!"

"Well . . . YEAH! Look, just try it out."

George turned to Fred, who nodded and stood up. "Fred's going to go out and hide an old wand we lifted from Ollivanders-"

"LIFTED?!" demanded Ron.

"- and then we'll use the Seeker 2000 to find it. Turn your back, Ron, and I will too. Don't hide it too far away, Fred."

Fred went off to hide the wand while Ron and George had their backs turned. Ron watched as his brother typed in the components of the wand.

"OKAY!" shouted Fred, running back to them. "Go and find it."

George pushed a big button labeled 'ENTER' and grinned as a flashing green dot appeared on the screen. "Okay, Ron, the green dot is the wand, and the blue one is us. Now, you can zoom in and out, but since this is only our backyard, we don't need to do that." He and Ron turned around and took one step forward.

KABOOM!!

Something behind a bush not too far away from them exploded. Fred coughed and said, "I think that was our wand. That's where I put it."

Ron snickered, realizing that the dot that had represented the wand was gone too. "I told you it wouldn't work!"

"Hold on!" protested George. "Fred, go get another wand."

Fred raced into the house and came back out with a sack full of wands. Ron eyed the bag suspiciously, thinking that they must've stolen a lot of wands from Ollivanders. Fred pulled out a wand, read the components off of a slip of paper attached to it and ran off to hide the wand.

George typed the needed information in and waited for Fred's okay. When he got it, he turned around, stepped forward and . . .

KABOOM!!

Another explosion.

The boys tried and tried again, going through ten wands, but the same thing kept happening. Even as Fred put them at farther distances than he had before, the wand always exploded on their first step.

Ron was just about to make a smart-mouthed comment when their mother came outside. She looked them over, then said, "Come in, boys! We've got company!"

Ron left his brothers and hurried inside the house. "Hermione!" he exclaimed when he saw her sitting at the kitchen table. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione smiled weakly. "I heard about Harry and came right over. I wanted to see if you were taking it well."

"I'm okay, I guess. Well, as okay as can be expected. I'm just a little . . . upset. I mean, how in the world did Death Eaters get into Harry's house? I thought Dumbledore had some sort of protective spells around the place."

"So did I." They stopped talking when the twins, looked dejected, came into the house. Hermione noticed the box in George's hand. "What's that?"

George looked around, then lowered his voice. "Something that'll help find Harry."

She jumped up. "REALLY?! THAT'S AMAZING!!"

"IF they could get it to work properly," Ron muttered under his breath.

Hermione heard him, then frowned. She sat back down and said supportively, "Keep at it, boys! I'm sure you'll get it."

They nodded, then walked off, still looking upset. 

Hermione scowled at Ron. "You should encourage them more often, especially this time when their invention could save Harry!"

"Yeah, whatever . . ."

Before Hermione could reply, a scream came from the living room. Ron and Hermione quickly got up and went to see what was wrong. Ginny was jumping up and down, pointing at the fireplace where someone was coming through the flames.

"IT'S SIRIUS BLACK!!! IT'S SIRIUS BLACK!!! HELP!!!! HELP!!!!!!!" she shouted loudly. The rest of the Weasleys came running into the room to see what the commotion was about.

Ron groaned. It WAS Sirius coming out of the fireplace. Harry's godfather stood before his family, taking them all in.

Sirius smiled hesitantly. "Um . . . hello."

*~*

Unfamiliar surroundings met Harry as he slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting in the middle of an empty room, tied to a chair and a gag firmly tied over his mouth. Harry gagged, then began to struggle against his bindings. He winced. The rope used to tie up his wrists tore at his skin with every movement of his arm. Harry stilled and settled back against the chair. No use fighting if he was only going to end up hurting himself.

Harry was vaguely aware that his leg wasn't hurting anymore and it seemed to be all fixed up. He frowned out of confusion and suspicion. _Why would Death Eaters heal my leg? That doesn't make any sense . . . In fact, I should be DEAD by now! _

Harry looked up as a door appeared on the wall to his left. He was one hundred percent positive that it hadn't been there before, so it must've been some magical door, like the ones at Hogwarts.

Three people stepped in, and harry recognized them to be the Death Eaters who'd attacked him that night. Then another man followed, pushing his way in front of them.

__

. . . wait a minute. Who is THIS guy? He certainly wasn't Voldemort. No, this new guy wasn't as ugly as the Dark Lord. In fact . . . he wasn't ugly at all. He looked very young, about twenty or so with long pale blond hair like Draco Malfoy's that fell to his waist and dark blue eyes. He sort or reminded Harry of an elf because of his short stature and long pointy ears. Not to mention the slight curl at the end of his shoes. 

"Remove his gag," said the elf guy and one of the three stepped forward to do so. 

__

He must be in charge. I wonder who he is . . .

Once the gag was removed, Harry croaked, "Who are you? One of Voldemort's lackeys?"

Strangely, the elf man looked insulted. "A follower of Voldemort? Hardly. My name is Diamante, and I am the leader of the Dark Sunrise."

"Dark . . . _what?_"

"The Dark Sunrise. An anti-Muggle group, also out for the defeat of Voldemort. Do not worry, Harry Potter, we are not out to hurt you. You are the ticket to our success, and we need you alive."

Author's Note: What's with the Dark Sunrise? Why do they want Harry? Will the twins _ever_ get the Seeker 2000 fixed and get the fame and fortune they've always wanted? Draco's out for both of the Cups this school year . . . will he ever come forward?? And where in the WORLD did Fred and George get all of those wands?! I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. (I'm just winging it right now . . .)

Oh, yeah, just in case anyone wants to know, Diamante is the name of a car (a Mitsubishi) and I just thought it sounded cool. J 

Please review! They are appreciated. (E-mails too . . .)


	3. Unwanted Visitors

Title: In Too Deep (3/?)

Author: Sticks and Stones

E-mail: sticks_and_stones101@yahoo.com

Rating: R 

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. Sorry.

Warning: Slash, some violence later on, I guess . . . rated R to be safe

Summary: (Slash) Draco dreams of Harry being kidnapped by an anti-Voldemort, anti-Muggle faction and awakes to see the same incident described in the morning paper. Will Draco come forth with what he knows and help Harry?

Author's Note: Excuse me before hand for my pathetic attempt at Hagrid's dialect. 

Thanks to all of the reviewers because I was really hesitant about posting this fic.

Special thanks to Beck for the comments. I'll go back and fix some things. I'm a fan of 'Boys and Girls'!

Chapter Three: Unwanted Visitors

"RON, WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" screamed Arthur Weasley, his face turning red as he struggled to keep the hand that was holding his wand from shaking. "WHY IS THERE A WANTED CRIMINAL IN THE LIVING ROOM?!!"

Ron winced. "Dad, I'm sure there's a perfectly _reasonable _explanation-"

Before Ron could get another word out, the fireplace crackled again and another man came out. Sirius stepped aside and allowed Remus to join him in the room. Remus straightened up, stretched a bit and brushed the ashes off of his shoulder before he noticed everyone gapping at him.

"Er . . . have we come at a bad time?" he asked, glancing at Sirius. The other man just shrugged.

"P-professor Lupin?" squeaked Ginny, peeking out from behind her father.

Remus got a better look at the people in the room. He barely recognized the teens. After all, it _had_ been a while since he'd last seen his former students. "Is that you, Ginny? And Fred and George, Ron and even Hermione! I-"

"ALRIGHT!" roared Ron's father, causing everyone to jump. The room fell silent. "Please, what are you people doing in my house?"

"Harry," Sirius said simply. He then held his hands up, to show them that he was no threat. 

Molly Weasley switched into her Mother Hen role. "Harry? You're the man that wanted to hurt him a few years back!"

"No, all of that was a misunderstanding!" insisted Sirius. He gave Ron a pleading look. "Help me out here!" he hissed.

"Oh, right! Dad, Mum, this is Harry's godfather. He's . . . um . . . a . . . pretty nice guy?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That was _perfect_, Ron! Look, maybe we should just sit down and talk about this . . . Mr. Weasley . . . can you put away your wand?"

Arthur looked hesitant, then shook his head quickly. "If I'm in no danger of an attack, then it shouldn't matter whether or not I have my wand out, now does it."

" . . . I guess not," muttered Hermione. "Okay, let's sit and discuss this like _calm _and _rational _adults."

Molly turned to George, Fred and Ginny. "Go on, get out of here!" They reluctantly shuffled off, but not without some protest from the twins. Ron tried to escape, too, and was pulled back roughly by the collar of his shirt. 

Arthur and Molly sat close together on the couch, forcing Hermione and Ron to sit down next to them. The two 'guests' sat across from them on wooden chains. They sat there in uncomfortable silence until Ron cleared his throat. 

"Okay, now, where do we start?"

*~*

Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sat at his desk, sipping at his usual morning tea and partaking of a hearty feast of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and the occasional Lemon Drop while a fierce war was being fought right outside his door. Hogwarts was under attack . . . 

By the press.

Word that members of the Hogwarts staff had been assigned to keep protective wards up around Harry's 'safe house' had somehow became public knowledge in a matter of hours, and the wizarding world wanted some answers. 

Unfortunately, Dumbledore was not at the liberty to give any statements about the incident, simply because he did not know a thing. Surely Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic would've been notified if anyone had tampered with the spells. No ordinary wizard, not even Voldemort himself, could've gotten around the protection undetected.

So what had happened?

Dumbledore popped a green Bean into his mouth frowned. Grass. Yuck.

Suddenly the door flew open and Minerva McGonagall, accompanied by a red-faced, furious Hagrid, stormed into the room. The giant quickly shut and leaned against the door as reporters rushed forth to shove their way into the room. 

Professor McGonagall straightened up her robes, which had almost been yanked off by overzealous reporters and said, "I'm sorry, Albus, but you'll have to change your password. I'm afraid the people outside heard me when I came in."

"It's quite alright Minerva. And Hagrid, hello! What a nice surprise!" beamed the old man. He gestured to the rainbow of candies lying on his desk. "Would either of you like a Bean, or maybe a Lemon Drop?"

"No thank you, sir," said Minerva hastily. "I'm sure you know why we're here."

"What 'appened to Harry?" demanded Hagrid, who was seething with anger. "Those wards were supposed ta be perfect!"

The Headmaster plucked up another candy- a red Bean this time, which turned out to be cherry, and sucked on it slowly. "They were," he answered.

Minerva blinked. "Sir . . .?"

"What do yeh mean 'they were'?!" shouted Hagrid. "I mean no disrespect, sir, but if they were, then Harry wouldn't be in the hands o' those slimy Death Eaters!!"

"Yes, I understand that, Hagrid, but those wards were set up by the best around. I cannot understand where they went wrong," replied Dumbledore honestly. "They should've kept any wizard with a Dark Mark, or one that they weren't programmed to accept, out of the house."

Minerva paled. " . . . So are you saying that you have no idea what happened?"

"None at all. Mmm, grape! My favorite!" 

Hagrid shifted his weight against the door and sighed heavily. "Sir, I ca'not stay 'ere all day. Yeh got to say somthin' to those people."

The Headmaster nodded and stood up, brushing a few candies into the big pockets of his robes to snack on later. "Alright, then. Hogwarts will release its first official statement."

*~*

Draco sat before his fireplace, polishing the beautiful wooden handle of his new broomstick. The soft sound of raindrops striking the rooftop kept him from going crazy from the silence that had filled the room just minutes ago, before the rain started to fall. The delicate crackling of burning wood wafted from the fireplace, along with a comfortable amount of heat that kept him cozy.

He grinned slightly as he ran a soft cloth up and down the handle with excessive care. What a nice day it was . . .

The broomstick that he'd been eagerly awaiting for nearly two weeks had finally arrived that afternoon. It had cost him a bundle, but it was the best broom out on the market and, with it, he was sure to sweep up the competition, or what little of it there was going to be during the upcoming year,

Draco held the broom slightly away from his body and eyed it with immense pleasure. The twigs were nice and evenly clipped, and fresh at that. The broom was so shiny from his ministrations that he could see his reflection in the beautiful, sturdy oak body. His eyes trailed up the length of it and this time a smirk appeared in his face. 

He'd paid extra to have his name engraved in fancy cursive letters on the end of the stick, and had had a set of protective spells placed on it too. No one would be able to ride it except for him.

But that wasn't the thing that amused him the most.

What got him smiling was the fact that his broom was a Firebolt _II_. 

He finally had one up on Potter. Too bad he wasn't going to be around to have his ass kicked during the Quidditch season. 

So there was a down side to the whole thing. But a very minor one.

After all, his house would get the cup, like they should've that first year, and all of the others following that. With Potter gone, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to tack on some extra points at the last minute to save Gryffindor's behind. Potter wouldn't be there to suck up to the teachers to get extra points either. 

What a wonderful year it would be!

Without warning, the fireplace snapped loudly, and then two big bodies came out, falling down onto the floor . . . and onto Draco. He managed to push his new broom out of the way before it, too, was crushed. Two more people emerged, but managed to avoid the collision on the floor.

"GET OFF DRAKKIE RIGHT NOW, YOU BIG JERKS!!" shouted Pansy Parkinson, stomping her feet. "You'll CRUSH him!!"

Goyle managed to pick himself up, then assisted Crabbe. Draco gasped for breath, then glared at the two. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

Pansy looked hurt, and probably was. "Oh, Draco, can't your friends come by for a visit?"

" . . . what do you want?"

Crabbe grinned and pulled a big bottle of wine from his robes, along with three crystal glasses. Goyle pulled out two more and said, "We came to celebrate. Potter's finally getting his dues."

"I know YOU must be happy, Draco," replied a familiar, soft, airy voice. Draco turned around and stared directly into the eyes of Blaise Zambini. "Quidditch and all."

Draco frowned. What was Zambini doing at his house? They didn't hang around much at school. In fact, he rarely spoke to the guy at all, unless it was absolutely necessary. His voice always sent shivers up and down Draco's spine . . . with that feminine tone, soft and light, but with that ever-present mysterious underscore.

Not much was known about Blaise. He liked to keep to himself when in the dorms, but everyone knew that his father was a Death Eater, his mother too. _That_ was the sort of news that traveled fast in the Slytherin dungeons. 

He was an okay student, did all of his homework and kept up in class, but no where in Granger's or Draco's league. He didn't stand out, just sort of blended in with the crowd.

Although Draco honestly didn't know how, not with _his _looks.

Zambini had dark hair, just as dark as Harry's, but was longer. It fell down to his shoulders, and was usually kept in a tidy ponytail. A single, tiny silver ring hung from his nose and another from his left earlobe. His eyes were unlike any Draco had ever seen. One was almost purple, and the other was a honey color. 

To sum it all up, Blaise Zambini was just plain . . . weird.

"Zambini . . ." muttered Draco, taking the boy's appearance in. "Didn't expect you here."

"Pansy dear invited me to this little party," said Blaise in his eerie voice. "Thought I'd come, to get to know you better. After all, I suspect that you'll usher in the new changes around Hogwarts, now that Potter's not around."

"New changes? What?"

"It's absurd the way the so-called Headmaster allows all of those Mudbloods into Hogwarts. The school's going to pot," sneered Blaise. It was clear that the others agreed with him, because they were all nodding their heads. 

"See, Draco," said Crabbe, "Blaise here is just like us. We should've found him a long time ago."

Draco, however, was not one to trust another so easily. Especially not a weird-o like Zambini. He didn't like the way the boy kept _staring _at him, and that grin on his face bothered him. Not to mention his obsession with piercing and tattoos.

__

Well, maybe this year won't be as peaceful as I thought. I better keep an eye on Zambini . . .

*~*

"My name is Diamante, and I am the leader of the Dark Sunrise," said the elf.

"Dark . . . _what?_"

"The Dark Sunrise. An anti-Muggle group, also out for the defeat of Voldemort. Do not worry, Harry Potter, we are not out to hurt you. You are the ticket to our success, and we need you alive."

Harry glared at the man standing before him. "Anti-Muggle? Tell, me how you're any different from the Death Eaters," he sneered, not believing one word that had come from Diamante's mouth.

"Gladly. Unlike the Death Eaters, who go around making themselves known my killings and such, the Dark Sunrise is more . . .undercover. No one but its members know of the existence of this group, and that is the beauty of it. Second of all, we are not overly violent."

Harry snickered. "Oh, yeah? Well, how in the world do you expect to overthrow Voldemort and his followers without using violence? Will you wish them away?"

Diamante ignored Harry's remark and walked around the back of his chair, untying the ropes that held him down. Harry instantly leapt up, only to find himself trapped. The three robed people were still guarding the door, and there was no other exit.

"Like I said, Harry, we are not out to hurt you."

"Then what do you want with me?"

"We want you to join our side."

*~*

"Would you like some tea, Sirius?" asked Molly politely, coming into the living room with a pot of steaming tea and several cups. She poured some of the liquid for herself, then some for her husband.

"Yes, thank you," replied Sirius with a smile on his face.

Ron lay stretched out on the couch, taking deep, _deep _breaths. It had taken a while to get his father to believe the story about the happenings of his third year, and he slightly suspected that he _still _didn't trust either one of the men. 

"Next time you decide to pay me a visit, Padfoot, be kind and give me a warning, okay?" muttered Ron. "Someone could've gotten their head blown off!"

"Sorry about that Ron," said Sirius sheepishly before taking a sip of his tea. "I was so worried about Harry that I didn't think."

Hermione nodded. "We're all worried. School is going to start in a few days . . . things won't be the same without him."

"ARGH!!" exclaimed Ron, startling everyone in the room. He sat up quickly and an angry look flashed onto his face. "I bet those slimy Slytherin are living it up! They're gonna take the Quidditch Cup this year without Harry on our side!"

Molly slapped her son on the back of his hand. "Honestly, Ron, think of something else for a change! This is a serious issue here!"

"Sorry, Mum."

Arthur gave his son a look, then said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't give you any answers. I wish I knew more myself."

"It's alright," replied Remus, just as a big gray owl flew through the open kitchen window and into the living room, depositing a thick stack of letters on the table. Molly paid the owl and shooed it away, then sorted through the mail after handing half of the stack to her husband.

Receiving mail was a hassle for the Weasley family. With so many children, and with Arthur having such an important job, there were letters by the truckload that arriving daily. Sometimes it even took more than one owl, or more than one trip, to bring everything to them.

That day was no exception. There seemed to be tons of mail for Ron, probably from friends who were concerned about Harry, many for Ginny and some for the twins. Arthur's pile of mail was growing and growing as they continued to sort. 

At the bottom of Molly's pile were four Hogwarts letters. She called loudly for her other children, who came running down as fast as they could. They were curious about their visitors, she could tell. "Here are your school letters, dears." She passed them around.

Fred and George eagerly eyed Sirius Black, making him squirm a bit. 

"Are you really SIRIUS BLACK?" asked Fred with little hesitation.

He nodded slowly.

"WOW!! This is awesome! THE Sirius Black, convict and all, is sitting in our living room, _drinking tea_!" exclaimed George. "So . . . like . . . you're not _really _a murderer, right?"

"I'm . . . Harry's Godfather," replied Sirius, "not a murderer."

"That's enough, boys," said Molly sternly. "Take a look at what we need to buy. We can visit Diagon Alley tomorrow morning."

*~*

Draco was not able to get rid of his company until late at night, when he'd shoved them into the fireplace and sent them on their way. Once they were gone, he quickly changed into his nightclothes, blew out the candles that illuminated his room, and fell into bed. 

He briefly considered waiting up for his father, who hadn't returned from the Death Eater meeting yet, but then decided against it. Who cared what he had to say, especially if it was something about Potter?

Draco was exhausted, his eyelids were heavy. He almost fell asleep the instant his head hit his pillow, but first, two thoughts invaded his mind.

__

Gotta make a trip to Diagon Alley in the morning . . . 

And . . .

__

I hope Potter stays out of my dreams tonight.

Author's Note: Will Harry be in his dreams? Both Ron and Draco will be at Diagon Alley in the morning . . . what will happen? WHY does Dumbledore seem to be too calm about the whole thing?

P.S.- Check out my other pen name, Enchantress101 if you're an amine fan, particularly DBZ.


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